Designer Secrets For A Room That Stays In Style

Designers have secrets for creating rooms that defy the test of time and stay in style year after year. I’m sharing these tips so you can use them in your home too.

Designers have trade secrets. They know decorating is a process that is never really done. But they also know lots of tips and sage advice for creating beautiful rooms. So today I’m sharing designer secrets for rooms that stay in style and look great for a long time!

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Today let’s chat about keeping our homes in style and beautiful using designer secrets! And here are my favorite designer tips to use in your home!

Designers LOVE style and decor magazines are filled with gorgeous rooms done in breathtaking colors with plush furniture adorned with high-end and expensive fabrics. Everything in those magazine-worthy rooms oozes expensive style.

But let’s be honest, most of us can’t afford many of the things in those gorgeous rooms. If you are like me you love almost every single designer room you see. But the tough reality is many just aren’t that practical! There has to be a way to decorate a room so it can look beautiful, stay within budget, be updated and welcoming, and look fresh and relevant for years. Or is this just wishing on a star?

Actually, there are smart ways to do just that! It’s not rocket science. But it is a lot of common sense, compromise, and a reality check!

We can’t be pie-in-the-sky when it comes to decorating. Decorating is work! We must, more often than not, compromise on the things we wish we could have in our homes. The hard reality is many of us settle for what we can afford! Of course, we do!

But that does not mean we can’t live beautifully and be surrounded by lovely things in our homes.

WHITE BUFFET WITH A LAMP AND URN FILLED WITH GREENS

Our goal as home designers is to create a warm, clean, welcoming sanctuary for our families and have a place where we can share fellowship with others, too! And most of us like to do it in style! Our style!

Here are some savvy tips to keep your home looking and feeling it’s decorated best straight from the pros!

Use Neutral Paints

There is so much decor power in paint!

Painting the walls, ceilings, woodwork, floors, and just about everything in my home. The right paint is so important for keeping your home looking fresh. A paintbrush is your magic wand, and paint the magic pixie dust!

But have you thought about painting your home with neutrals? Soft whites, just a hint of color beige, a warm-tone gray, or even a soft and earthy camel? These colors are classics. They may not be trending right now, but they will never go out of style. And they will always look beautiful!

Paint, especially neutral paint colors, and there is a plethora to choose from, will update your home like nothing else! Decide on a color palette for the walls and woodwork in your home, and get busy. You might like to see how to How To Choose A Color Palette For Your Home and How To Make The Move To A Neutral Color Palette.

Designers know how light neutral walls are the perfect foil for all your furnishings and accents. Even if you love color, neutral walls will enhance the colorful decor you have.

Our Tanglewood House is painted Simply White by Benjamin Moore. Both walls and woodwork. Oh, how I want to paint the floors white too!

But if white is not your thing, then choose another neutral. There are literally thousands of neutral colors to pick from. Beige is one of the most becoming colors for walls and trim. You might like to read, Why Beige Is Not Boring.

Right now, trends are moving to more moody colors, and blue is a big color choice for homes! Those moody blues are so pretty. However, they will look “so 2020” in a few years. Since we are talking about rooms that stay in style for a long time, whites and neutrals will be in style and fresh long after the blue trend has disappeared.

Keep High Ticket Decor Neutral

You will want to keep the furniture that costs the most in your home looking classic and guarded against looking dated. The design professionals know traditional and classic furniture lines are the way to go! They stay in style longer!

I love Transitional styling because it is traditional furniture slimmed down, updated a bit, and neutral. The spindle chairs above are a slimmed-down classic. I’ve had these chairs for about a decade, and they still look as fresh in my living room as they did the day they came to live with me!

Neutral furniture is timeless and works with almost anything you put with it! Neutral means wood tones too! Keep wood tones in the lighter to the middle range for a timeless look!

And here is my best advice…

Best Tip

Only spend as much as the years you are willing to live with something.

Let me say this again…

Only spend as much as the years you are willing to live with something.

You should memorize this and make it a decorating mantra.

What I mean by this is…

If you only want to live with a chair for five years, spend only enough for it, so at the end of five years, you are willing to let it go if you want and get something new.

The coffee table in the living room is really a bench. I’ve had it for decades! It has served as a bench and even had a pretty upholstered cushion on it. I’ve used this bench in so many rooms of our home. Its classic styling keeps it looking fresh even though it is not a new piece. The bench was a mid-priced bench, so I have certainly gotten my money’s worth from it!

Everything Has An Expiration Date

Everything has an expiration date. Everything! This is another good thing to remember. Even classic furnishings will wear out. Or you will someday want to change them. Nothing lasts forever!

Spend money on decor that has a longer expiration date because it is classic! And be thrifty on decor that has a short expiration date!

I’ve talked to too many friends, clients, and readers who have beautiful yet dated expensive furniture. They are very hesitant to replace it even though they don’t like it anymore. The problem? They paid a lot for it!

This makes me heartsick! I know how they feel. I’ve made that same decorating mistake, and I vowed when I let go of my old furniture I would never pay too much for furniture and other home furnishings again!

Let’s face it, styles change, and so do we. You don’t have the same hairstyle and clothes you did in high school, right? Right! Or the same car? Things wear out, and let’s be perfectly honest here, we get tired of the same old, same old!

Times have changed, and we should not keep the same furnishings for our adult lives unless we really, really want to.

Keep Your Home On Trend With Accessories

Designers have lots of secrets for keeping a home looking up to date. And we need to use those secrets in our homes.

One thing I picked up from the decorating pros is to change up the accessories and accent pieces in my home.

I have a different philosophy about accent items.

I don’t spend a lot on things like paintings and pricy pottery. It’s okay by me to use baskets on my walls instead of art and fool-the-eye downright cheap pottery or bargain store picture frames and other less expensive trendy accent pieces in my home.

When I’m tired of them or feel like my style might be changing, I can remove what I have and add a few new things! And have no guilt at all!

The High-Low Mix

I’ve saved the best for last. Here’s my favorite designer secret. This is my trademark move!

Invest in large ticket items and fake the rest! I call this the High/Low mix, and it works wonders! Think about finding reasonably priced items that look expensive! Look for home decor items that mimic their more expensive cousins!

When something is well made and has a more expensive look I tend to scoop it up!

If you gravitate towards more refined-looking items for your home but also want it to look warm, welcoming, and inviting, then you might want to try mixing both higher-end items with slightly worn and textural objects. It’s such a pretty look! My home’s decor is all about juxtaposition.

Here are a few other designer secrets for your home

  • Don’t neglect to replace furnishings and accents as they get worn out, look tired, or out of date. It’s easier to be doing a little bit continually than having to makeover an entire room all at once. And a lot less money in the long run!
  • Don’t fill your rooms with lots of furniture and collectibles. A well-curated room looks fresher and more up-to-date. Remember, less is more.
  • If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, layer an updated rug over it.
  • Paint dated wood furniture and other things like trays, mirrors, and even lamps.
  • So many people hold onto furniture they don’t really love because decades ago they paid a lot of $$$ for it. Make a plan to let go of those furnishings.
  • Use lots of texture instead of color. This looks updated and will stay in style longer.
  • No matter what decorators say, YOU have the final say! Live with what you love and the things that work for you and your family!

Get started! Work towards creating rooms in your home that look beautiful and up-to-date for years to come!

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FAQs About Rooms That Stay In Style

Timeless decor is just that, home furnishings and accent decor that have stood the test of time and still look relevant and up to date! These pieces may not be the latest trend but they still look beautiful and very much in style!

Choosing furnishings that are classic is the most important thing to do to make a room look timeless. Also, a neutral or tight color palate will help a room look pulled together.

Would you like the rooms in your home to stay in style? Use these tips and create a curated room that will look fresh and updated for years to come.

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22 Comments

  1. I’ve been replacing ceiling light fixtures with more modern ones to up refresh my traditional/ transitional rooms. I’ve seen this done on blogs and Instagram and decided I liked the look. Two down, two more to go.
    I just had my bedrooms and baths painted in a very, soft warm off white colour. It now makes me happy to walk into those rooms. The light beige on my great room walls, which has lots of windows, looked too dark in those rooms so I decided to go three shades lighter. I agree wholeheartedly on neutral walls!

  2. Agnes Hamilton says:

    I would like your assistance for my master bedding. I have light “mist gray” quilt w matching shams. I don’t like my white pillow cases showing but not certain if I need a pr patterned shams? I use navy and white accessories. I love your posts and your style. Thank you

  3. Jill Bakeman says:

    Gorgeous pussy willow wreath on your table! I love the way you styled it! Where did you find a real one– did you make it yourself?

  4. I have hunted and found great classic items at thrift stores. It can be timeless and found there affordably. I think getting plants (real if you can or fake but high quality) can be very timeless. I also love most my plain white dishes and plain white linen napkins. Coordinating with white has been my favorite style, and I do love simplicity and not so much trendiness unless the trend is something gorgeous that just fits! I love the restful look, not a bright or colorful one.

  5. I love neutral rooms too and have lived with them for many, many years but paint is relatively inexpensive and can make a room seem more cozy and interesting. I am not afraid to paint walls knowing I can change it in a few years. I can change several small things like pillows or a big thing like a rug to bring in color but I think all neutral everything is a thing of the past.

  6. Yvonne,
    You are my lifestyle muse. Your topics are always exactly what I need to read.
    Right now I am trying to decide on a color for a new sectional. Our current one has been well used and is showing some wear. It is a neutral taupe but I can’t seem to find that color. The room is neutral with a brown and beige area rug, light beige walls and a large cream color leather chair. Seasonal accessories,pillows and paintings ect bring in color. Any ideas for new color for the sectional?

  7. Can you tell me where you got the rug in this picture? Cream colored with blue on the vertex of the squares? I love it and also the chairs.
    Thank you

      1. Oh, thank you so much! I have been admiring your rug and couldn’t find anything like it. I love this!
        Your blog has taught me so much and I love it! Thank you again!

  8. Love your home and decorating style. I love your dining table and chairs. May I ask where you got it? I thought I read somewhere that is the Pottery Barn Toscana, but that is not two tone.

  9. Can you tell me where the picture is from over the fireplace as well as the candlesticks?

  10. Yvonne,
    Is there some way you could install wall to wall white carpeting, without ruining the hardwood floors? Maybe Berber or something that you can still put rugs on top of? This will fool the eye and give the look you want, and someday someone will pull up the carpet and be so glad for the beautiful unpainted hardwood! Or…… a wall-to-wall DIY white drop cloth that is cut to perfectly cover the flooring, and won’t require tack strips like carpet…. Surely there’s a way to get the look you want without painting it….

    1. Good morning, Liberty! I’m sorry, I don’t know. You might consult Esis And Sons in Lancaster. They are a very reputable carpet and flooring company.

  11. Thank you for the inspirations! I’ve been reading your Pinterest posts, and love The Evolution of a Kitchen! Would you please share info about your countertops? Thank you!